Ments



L. C. STUKENBORG 'conos' PIcxaa- .lune a, 1924. Re. 15.855

Original FiledApril-Zl. 1917 gsheets-Sheot il ya Y 7471/ June' 3 1924.

L. C. STUKENBORG COTTON PICKER original Filed Apri; 21- 191'/ s sheets-sheer 2 L. c, s'ruKEN'BoRG y COTTON PICKER original Filed April -21 .`\l9l7 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 jazzfs CUP/laffe ZZ? Reiued June 3, 1924.

ff UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS CARROLL STUKENBORG, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB, BY LIF-SNE ASSIGN- IENTS, TO ST'UKENBOBJG CORPORATION, ,0F WILMIIWQTON, DELAWARE, A COB- PORTION 0F DELAWARE.

cor'rcn PICKER.

Original lo. 1,264,575, dated April 30, 1918, Serial No. 183,540, Vlecl April 21, 1917. Application for reissue led September 15, 1920.V Serial No. 410,560. i

To all whom it may concern VBe it known that I, Louis CARROLL STUK- nNnonG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton Pickers; and I do hereby declare that the I following is a full, clear, andexact description thereof, reference being had to the ac-` companying drawin and to the characters of reference Vmarke thereon, which form a part of this specification. Y

The resent invention relates to novel means or picking or removing the cotton from the bolls, and the purpose of the invention is to produce" a mechanism constructed and arranged to remove the cotton without breaking the fibers, and arranged to comb the fibers to open the locks and to se regate them and the seeds thereof and a hering fibers from each other so as to produce a fluffy picked product, and to brush or loosen the boll dirt and particles of leaves from the cotton for ready and efficient separation therefrom, and to means'for carrylng the cotton rearwardly in such a way as tof prevent substantial matting or pressing of the cotton after it leaves the bur and to preserve its open and llu'y condition so as to facilitate the separation 'of the dirt and leaf articles therefrom. By reason of these conditions the gin will perform better workl and produce more lint cotton per bale of seed cotton, and a better and a cleaner linter staple.

further object of the invention, achieved by the manner of picking and conveying the cotton, is to remove a large percentage of moisture from the seed cotton, thereby preparing the seed cotton for the 'n and to produce a better lint staple and rior seed.

A further object of the invention is to produce a construction of cotton picker mechanism which prevents the carrying of the bur backwardly with the cotton, and to provide a, guard in front of the picking means whic will reject or kick out the bur after the cotton has been-pulled therefrom.

Other objects ofthe invention are to imrove and simplify cotton pickers, and the mventien consists inthe combination and arrangement of the elementsv shown in the drawings and described in the specification, andris pointed out in'the appended claims.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cotton picker'machine embodyin my invention.

Figure 2 isa plan view t ereof,'with parts broken away.

Figure 3 is an the picker head.

Figure 4 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Figure 5 is a front elevation of the head.

Figure 6 is a lon 'tudinal vertical section of one form of the ead.

l'igure I is a plan view thereof with a portion of the casin removed.

As shown in the rawings, 10 designates, as a whole, the frame of the machine which is rectangular at its rear end and is tapered towardl its forward end, the tapered upper and lower members 11 thereof beinV joined by short transverse portions 12. e rectan lar portion 13 of the frame is made of a dimension to carry the operating motor, which in this instance vconsists of an explosion engine 14. Said frame, as herein shown, 1s made of skeleton flanged frame members between which is stretched wire netting, but may be otherwise constructed.

The frame is supported on two wheels 18 which arerotatably mounted on spindles of a xed axle 19? suitably connected to the enlarged side elevation of rear lowerl end member of the frame.l The are attached to the forward narrow end of the machine frame and the weight of the forward portion of the machine frame,'when the machine is stationary, is borne by one or more legs 21 of any suitable design.

25 designates a receiving receptacle to, which the cotton is conveyed from the picker head. The skeleton frame of this receptacle is made of flanged bars 26 between which is stretched wire netting 27,; and one of the sides of the receptacle may be left open or may bel provided with any suitable door as desired. The receptacle is shown as supported on the upper rear member 28 of the wheeled frame by means of hooks 29 in the manner shown in Figures 1 and 2.

35 designates the picker Ahead in which is mounted the active elements that pick the connecteitotlie 'outer or fre eixd'nf fa emv* veying tube 36, preferably made of flexible material so that the head may be directed inall"direetions,an-d saidtube is carried4 backwardly toa suction fan 37 that is supported on the top of the wheeled frame. The tube 36, as herein shown, is carried to the center of said fan and the eduction"`sideL of th efanis` connectedY by a pipe or thoroughfare' 38 to the ,receiving receptacle 25. The fan is driven by means of a belt l"or other#A *suitable transmission .device .40V .from s. pulley 4].voftvthe ,engine or motor shaft.

This fan is of special constnuctionyproducingqthereqgired suction toxdraw the cotton throught-the flexible tubeV and at the same time avoid cloggin s, ofthe cotton fiber. in the fan structure. he tube 36 is supported, fonwardlybeyond. the vfan, by a vbracket 42 which rises from the machine frame.- The tubesismadeof. sufficient length to extend a considerableldistance forwardly of. the machine and from each side thereof so that the one machine may serve two or more rows4 ofcotiton plants..

If desired, i' a single fan blower may be connected, through a plurality of such tubes, .with a plurality of icker heads, so that a central. plant .of -s on vone.machiney may be utilized for furnishing\ the:-power to operate a number of heads andthereby increase the capacity'of the ma- Thepickerhead isof special construction and' this construction is clearly illustrated in Figures to (,which show t e picker head apartiromptheiremainder of the cotton har-- vester.

Reierringdo the picker` head mechanism showmin Fi"`ures 3 to 7, "inclusive, shown as one embo iment of the invention, said mechanismy embraces* thefollo'wn operative combinedlements: 45,45 esignate twoV rushes which yare vfixed to shafts 46,46 thatiarerotativelymounted in suitable bearings 47. at the side walls-48, 48' of the picker head casing` vr The shafts'of said brushes are parallel, .and thebristles i 50" are'of such.. en'gth asto interact at their meeting rends.

The brushes -are rotated in opposite directionsr asindicated by the arrows, 'in a way to carry the acotton rearwardly. 'The brushe'sare located in the mouth' 51`of the casing whichis'nopen tat'its'forward side. The casing lis reduced rearwardlypf the brush inclosingrenlarged front end to provide a neck portion 54 which. is suitably connected to and communicates with'the flexible tube 36. .Conveniently the upper side of the casingl is removable to constitute Va cover member 55 (Fi ure 3) 'that is fixed in place by means suitaly located overlapping lugs 56cm the cover member and the main body of` the head .to receive'attaching bolts 57.

Removal Of the cover memberpermits free-l cent capacity located access to the brushes and' tof other parts of the mechanism hereinafter described.

Located in rear of and opposite to the meeting faces of the brushesV 1s a take-olf: ory

transfer device which is so constructed and arranged as toA positively remove the cotton from the brushes as the proximate sides of th'e brushes are rotated rearwardly. Said take-olf device, as shown, is constructed to remove the cotton from the brushsfthere being suitable conveying means in rear thereof to receive cotton so removed and to carryA it backwardlythrough the tube 36 inr to the receptacle 25.' The take-oil or tra-nsfer device shown in Figures 5, 6, and ,7, is made as follows:

60 designates a shaft`which is fixed in any suitable manner, as by a cross pin," in an" elongated bearing 61 of the cover` member of the head and maybe disposed ata right angle to the axes of the brushshafts, or otherwise. 62 designates/a `sleeve or-busha;` ing which is rotativelyor loosely mounted on said shaft. Said shaft'is provided at one end with an eccentric head 63 betweenwhi'ch and innery end of the' elongated'bearing61L thet sleeve 62 is conned. 64 desi hates" a. plurality` of pointed pins'or spurs w ich are' xed in any suitable manner tosaid sleeve and extend radially'therefrom in' angularly spaced rowsu that travelv in contact with the brushes. rounds the sleeve 62 and lis provided at one end, remote from the elongated. bearing 61, with an integral bearing stu'd 66. i Said stud 65 designates a shell which sur# is 'rotativelyk mounted 1n a suitable bearing" bushing '67" that Vis`-` seated in anopening in the bottom wall 'of the pickerhead casin Th axis of rotation vofsaidstud of the sh"i l fisfeccentricto the axis of rotation of the sleeve" 62,. and the endxwall 68 osaid shell" is provided "with a recess to' receive the en-V larged head 63 of the shaft60, said head of the shaft being frotatively 'mountedfin"therecessed shell.

The said shell 65 is providedI with a plu rality of apertures through which extend the radial pins 64. .and by reason of the eccentricity of tlraxes of the shell and sleeve,-

the saidpins'extend at various distances from 'the outer face of the shell -in different parts of the V'circunfiference Y' offthe `vshell'.

lVith thisconstruction it will beobserved that when the shell is rotatedit acts,-fthrough the connection of the pins therewith, tol' also rotaterthe 'sleeve 62r and, by referring'tol' Figures 6 and 7,"it will bezoblserved that the l.

axis vof rotation ofthe sleeve'62 isi offset'to'- ward the brushesV relatively to 'the'A axis l01E rotation of the A'shell 65 so thatf when 'the'- @Xtemi a, distance from-the .Sheilinw the bristles of the brushes in positionV to dislodge or remove the cotton from the brushes, and

'lIO

that as the shelkand 'pins rotate rearwardlyl z12,5 pins' are presented toward the 1 brushes they.-

from the brushes said pins retreat or disappear into the shell to such an extent that on the side of the shell remote from the brushes the pins have entirely disappeared. Thus cotton is released from the pins so as to ermit the cotton to be removed by a suit ab e conveyor in rear thereof, one form of which conveyor will be hereinafter described.

4The said rotating disappearing pins and the brushes may be operated in any suitable manner to produce the results described. As herein shown, the driving connections for operating said members are made as follows:

69 designates a flexible driving shaft which is rotatively mounted in a bearing 69', carried by the flexible tube 36 near the picker head. Said flexible shaft is connected to a rigid shaft 70 that is mounted in suitable bearings 71, 71 carried by and rising-from the machine frame. Between said bearings a pulley 72 is fixed to said shaft which is driven by a belt trained about pulley 73 on the power shaft of the engine adjacent to the fly wheel 74 thereof. The forward end of said flexible shaft is connected to a rigid shaft section 76 (Figure 6) that is mounted in a suitable bearing 77 carried by the picker head casing. Said shaft 76 is provided with a beveled gear 7 8, which meshes with a beveled gear 79 that is lixed to a shaft S0 which extends transversely across the casing and is mounted in suitable bearings 81, 81 carried by the side walls of said casing near the bottom thereof. Said beveled gear 79 meshes with a beveled gear 83 which is ixed to or is made integral with the bearing stud 66 of the shell 65, whereby said'shell is rotated. One end of said shaft 80 is provided with a spur gear 85` (Figure 3) which meshes with a spur gear 86 that is lixed to the shaft 46 of one of the rotary brushes, and the spur gear 86 meshes with a Vthird spur gear 87 which is fixed to the shaft 46 of the other rotary brush 45. The arrow in Figure 3 indicates the direction of rotation of the several spur gears.

The gearing described is such that the proximate sides of the brushes are rotated in reverse directions and rearwardly, and carry the cotton dislodged thereby from the bolls into the sphere of action of the takeoff or transfer device consisting of theseries of rotating disappearing pins, said transfer Vdevice carrying the cotton into the sphere of action of the conveyor of whatever type'may be employed.

The particular type of conveyor herein shown is a pneumaticconveyor, which comprises as an element thereof the suction fan 37 before referred to.

In order to employ the suction of said fan to convey the cotton from the rotary transfer device backwardly through the flexible plant.

tube 36 without drawing objectionable extraneous substances into the head with the cotton the casing of the picker'head is provided in rear of the brushes with one or more induction openings 90. The suction induced by the fan 37 in the flexible tube 86 and the neck 54 of the head produces a low pressure area within the head immediately in rear of the transfer device and in a reg1on of comaratively still or non-flowing air, such as will dislodge the cotton fiber from the transfer device and pass the same backwardly into the region vof moving air or in rear of the induction openings; it being apparent that the region within the picker head in rear of induction openings is subject to a moving blast rather than a relatively non-flowing area such as exists forwardly of said induction openings. The state of pressure in this low pressure area in connection with the centrifugal action of the take-off device is sulficient to dislodge or/remove the cotton from the transfer or take-off device. Therefore, there is provided a pneumatic conveyor which is sufficiently active to carry the cotton backwardl from the head and through the flexible tu e 36 and into the receptacle 25, but which does not draw into the head solid particles, such as broken parts of the cotton burs or twigs or leaves of the cotton Therefore, the cotton is free from such objectionable extraneous materials and is in condition for ellicient ginning.

In order to revent the brushes them'- selves drawing into the head broken particles of burs, twigs, or leaves, suitable Guards may be interposed between Vthe brushes Vand the open mouthof the head. As herein shown, such guards, designated by 92, of which there are a number sprin ing from both the upper and lower wa of the casing, are each made of a single piece of wire that is bent in general U-form and extendsr through the casing' walls for fixed attachment to the head, said wires being attached to anchor bars 93 suitably fixed exteriorly to the upper and lower casing walls. Said guards are curved to conform generally to the curvature of the brushes and the upper set of the guards terminate short of the lower sets thereof so as to provide space between the upper and lower sets to facilitate the entrance of the cotton to the head when drawn thereinto by the brushes. Obviously any other form of guard suitable for the purpose may be employed. One arm of .each of said guards 92 is made longer than the other arm to. extend through the casing walls for suitable attachment to the anchor bars93. The other ends of the U-shaped guards 92 are so spaced r,relatively to the top and bottoni wallsr of the picker head casing as to engage said walls When the guards are exed or bent inwardly toward the brushes, and said free ends of `the guards constitute stops to prevent the guards beinF pushed against the cores of the brushes which would effect a brake action against the rotation of said brushes. The said guards are made of any suitable resilient material, such as spring steel and yield inwardly toward the brushes by the application of the force of the rapidly rotating brushes, which pulls the cotton from the bolls and draws the cotton into the head between the proximate ends of the two sets of guards. The resiliency of said guards serve, when the cotton is released from the bolls, to spring the guards outwardly in a manner to throw off or reject the bolls and thereby serve as a further means of preventing the bolls or parts thereof passing into the head. The springing of the guards inwardly by the action described serves to expose greaterlengths of the bristles of the brushes which pass between the guards so that said brushes may more effectively engage the cotton. Moreover, when thev guards are thus swung inwardly about their points of attachment to the casing walls, the inner or proximate ends of the guards are separated a greater distance than in the normal position of the guards, so as to somewhat increase the throat opening through which the cotton passes into the head.

It will be obvious that the transfer orl take-ofi' device, consisting in general terms of a movable element placed in rear of the brushes, which directly picks the cotton from the burs, coact with the bristles of the brushes to transfer the cotton from the brushes to the sphereof action of a con veyor device. 4 So far as the transferer takeoff device of the invention is concerned, the conveying devicel may be otherwise constructed and arranged so long as the cotton is conveyed rearwardly with no substantial compressing or matting of the staple. The pneumatic conveyor herein shown, however, and. arranged in the manner described is advantageous inasmuch as it avoids the liability of drawing into and through the picker head extraneous substances which would be objectionable in the cotton staple and which at the same time provides for an efficient transfer of the cotton from the picking brushes to the conveyor. The disappearing typeof take-ofil device is advantageousin that it serves to strip the cotton fibers Vfrom the picker brushes, and to deliver it eficiently to the sphere of action of tha moving current of air in the conveyor tu It will be noted that the brushes most closely approach each other and interact to draw the cotton rearwardly into the head in a plane coincident with the center of the head and of the neck and that the takeoff ortransfer'device islocated centrallyin the nageursr head and frotatesabout an axis which is transverse to (at right angles, as shown herein) the axis of rotation of the brushes, and that said take-off device wipes through the bristles of the brushes at the meeting sides thereof throughout practically the entire length of the brushes, as will be apparent from a .considerationv of Figures 6 and 7. Therefore, the path of tlfe cotton through the head and backwardly into the influence of the moving column of air in rear ofthe induction openings 90 in the head is ak straight path and `located centrally of the `head so that the cottonis carried into the head with a minimum` disturbance to the cotton fibers in the way of rubbing them upon lthemselves and against the w lsvof the passageway into the head. The effect of this construction is, first, that the machine may run at al high rate of speed and the picker mechanism of thehead will notbecome clogged, and, second, the fiber of the cotton-is disturbed to a small extent and isnot compacted or intertwined.

It may be here noted that the brushes act on thefcotton while .pulling the cotton rom the bur in the manner of a comb both by reason of the fact that the bristles of the brushes. pierce the cotton locks while the cotton is passing between the brushes and byreason of the fact that the brushes, which are traveling at considerable speed, have movement rrelatively to the cotton fiber while thebers are being pulled from the burs, and this relative movement is de pendent somewhat upon the tenacity with which the cotton-sticks to the burs. Furthermore, after the cotton is remo-ved from the burs by the brushesthe pins of the takeoff device effect a further combing action on the cotton by reason of the fact Lthat the take-ofi1 device travels at a higher speed than the brushes, Vas will beV evident from an inspectionV of the gear ratio of the gears 86, 87 of the brushes and the gear 85 through which powerI is transmitted., to drive the brushes by mechanism which also drives the take-off device. This combing of the cotton thus effected opens the locks and Se regates them and their seeds from eac other and has'the effect to loosen the boll dirt and leaf particles from the cotton so that when the cotton is delivered' by the take-offdevice into the sphere of the moving columnof air at'the rear of the brushes, the boll dirt and` leaf particles, being somewhat heavier than the cotton, froml the conveyor in advance of the cotton and pass directly through the screen-like wall of the basket or receiver while the clean cotton drops to the bottom of Said basket or receiver. That portion of the chamber of the casinghead containing the take-off device is enlarged at its side abreast the take-off device to provide ample clearare discharged.

.around the t e-of ance for the cotton between the take-off device and the casing wall and to avoid pressing or mattin of the cotton as it passes device so that thereb the open or luEy condition of the cotton 1s maintained and its fiuy condition permits the air to pass freely through the fibers to free therefrom boll dirt and leaf particles and to dry the cotton.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cotton picker comprising a pickerv head open at .its front and having a rearwardly extending hollow neck adapted for connection to a suction' pipe, oppositely ro tative, interactin brushes mounted at the so en front of sai head, and a rotative takeffo device in rear of said brushes arranged takeoif arranged centrally of said head and adapted centrally of said head and adapted to travel between and in contact with said brushes, said head being provided in rear of said brushes with an induction port.

2. A cotton picker comprising a picker' head open' at its front and having a rearwardly extending hollow neck adapted forv 3. A cotton picker comprising a picker' head open at Aits front, oppositely rotative, interacting flexible bristle brushes mounted at the o n front of said head, a Vrotative evice in rear ofV said brushes and to travel between and in contact with the bristlesof said brushes, said head being provided in rear of said brushes with an induction port, and two sets of guards mounted on op osite walls of the head and extending towa but terminating short of each other.

4. A cotton picker comprising a picker head open at its front and having a rearwardly extending hollow neck adapted for,

connection to a suction pipe, oppositely rotative, interacting brushes mounted at the open front of said head, a rotative take-oil device in rear of said brushes arranged centrally of said head and adapted to travel between and in contact with said brushes,

said head being. provided in rear of said brushes with an induction port, and

two sets of guards in front of the brushes mounted on opposite walls of the head and extending inwardly toward, but terminating short of eachl other, with means for limiting the `movement of the guards toward the brushes.

5. A cotton picker comprising a picker head having an open mouth, rotating infk teracting picker brushes at said mouth a take-oii device in contact with the brus es for removing the cotton therefrom, and resilient guards at said mouth extending partially across said brushes between which the bristles of said brushes are adapted to extend.

6. A cotton picker comprising a picker head having an open mouth, rotating interacting picker brushes at said mouth, a takeoff device movable in contact with the brushes for removing the cotton therefrom, and resilient guards mounted on opposite walls of the head in front of said'brushes and extending inwardly toward each other and spaced from each other at their proximate ends and between which the bristles of said brushes extend.V

7. A cotton picker comprising a picker head having an open mouth, rotating interacting picker brushes at said mouth, a takeoff device coacting with the brushes for removing the cotton therefrom, and two sets of U-shaped resilient guards mounted on opposite walls ofthe head infront of the brushes, one member of each guard being normally spaced from' the wall to which it is attached but adapted to contact with said wall when the guard is sprung toward the brushes to limitv the bending movement of said guard.

8. A cotton picker comprising a picker head having an open mouth, picker brushes at said mouth, and resilient guards extending partially across said mouth in front of the brushes and springable toward said brushes and having stop means to vlimit their movementtoward said brushes. 9. A cotton picker comprising a' picker head having an openmouth, picker brushes at said mouth, and resilient guards extending partially across said mouth and terminating at the opening thereof and normally inclined toward said brushes and springable toward said Vbrushes and between which the bristles of said brushes extend.

10. A cotton pickerv comprising a picker head havinglan open mouth, picker brushes at said mouth, and spring guards anchored to the walls of the head and terminating at the opening to said mouth and springable ytoward the'brushes and acting by their resiliency to reject or throw out the cotton burs from the head when the cotton is removed therefrom.

11. A cotton lpicker comprising a picker head having an open mouth, picker brushes at said mouth, and two sets of spring guards anchored to opposite walls of the head and terminatin at the opening to' said mouth and exten ing inwardly toward but terminating short of each other, each set of guards extending well beyondy the axis of rotation of its associated brush.

12. Avootton picker `comprising a Apickerl i lftrwremoving'thejcotton .inomthe bnrsfwhereby prising i onmm'ablegfinf contactffwith imdzibetween the .1 handhaving an openfmouth, oppositely ro- -fipnisng ,rotative,.rinteracting" picker brushes,

' fiati-ve `picker brushesat saidxmouth between-1 a-Llxakesof `device :in fcontact: therewith-.em-

afwhichg Vand'substantiallythrough the action whmcing av serieso-.iradial pins1aVv .perforated fof-*thea brushes alone, the cotton .is drawn shelli outwardlypthrough whichthe pins ex- 5amamvardly into the head, sand. resilient:` tend','theiaxeszof: rotation of 'the .shell and 1 guards extending @partially across sa1d:,saidffseries of-pins being eccentric with remouth and springable toward said" brushes spect to each other, with means ffor rotating fand adapted Yto bevsprungvtoward? said v'thetake-oif device. v

" bmisheseby the force of the brushes 1n 18. In a cotton picker, a-'pickei-headcomoppositely rotative, interacting :ofthefgmrds-restores them to. normal: posif l'rear thereof and engaging `ithe-bristles of txtiomzand;theythereby-.reject the burs. V#saidbrushes,''emlnacintg.:nf-series of radial x13. Afnottonr picker cempriaingy a; ickerrpinsa" perforated:zshellfontwardly'fthrongh 1 lam having open mouth,v :opposite y. r0- 'i Whichfthe pinsfextendthei axes ofrotntion rztatveipicker bmisheszat said `momith between 1f'thefshellfadsaid-'series of pinsbeing ecf; whchyfand subantially :through the action ".nantrie withfrespectztoeach `other; andmeans of the brushes alone,=the cottonris drawn-rior noatingthetake-'oif device.` ei'earvmrdlyfinto :the: head, resilient guards 19.!` In a eottnnspioker, a picker headlam- 20.'extendingV .partially across. said 'mouthn and #bracing winteraotimg, .oppositel disposed s-.qzlingblertowarcl said brushesmndadapted picker brushes vbe'tweenwhicht e cotton is :'to'-bef1sprung' toward:l sadfabrushes* bythe xdrawn rem'thebnr, anda take-.off device at '.fliorce'of thehrushesinfremovin .the cotton -said head-fa'ctingwwth'-rsaid brushesfemnimm fthev burs, 1wherebywhen t e tcotton is :bracing a series of pins movable betweenthe '1 isremovedfthe resilieneywof theguards'Tevfbrushesfinfthedirection oftheirflength, and

` fzstm'es' :thenry tosinormal position adf Vthey wellnbracingalso'strippingk .means :to strip the e therebyzfmjt :the burs, andfstop means to `AK cotton-from said pins.

disait (the fmmtement bf vthe guards-toward 20.,f Inacottonpicker,l wpicherfheadem- ,omitirbrushes.A f bracing interactingrotative picker-brushes, f fi-'Afeotton'ipicker comprising. anpicker andi a'-'tmke-ofxlderviceacting against; the head having an open mouth, @opposi'ftely rorbrushes comprising a-rrotativeiammlar mem-A @itat'ive pickerbrushesatsaidmouth- .between weber; combinedrwthi a series ofpins rotative z whichyahdrsubstantially through fthe action on an axis eoeentricftothe axis offrotation of ..of-thenbrushes alonethe cotton is drawn said member, whereby said'ypinsnreI prof rearwardlyl finto lthe head, resilient extending: partially acrossvsaidmot and ,inthe rotation of .theilatten f springable toward `said brushes Aand adapted z 21. rA*cottonipiolierycomprising4 apicker t0 bezsprung toward said brushes by'the ihead-having-amopenfmouth, mtativepiker 1, force of the ybrushes in removing the cotton brushes atisad 1mountlnf shaft in rearof 40Vfrom the burs, whereby--when-the lcotton is f-'said brushes,l a; sleeve mountedconswid shaft, `removed the resiliency ofstheguardsfrea a seriesoradial pins carried by-theV sleeve lstores-them to normal posit'oi'rfand;y they f ginwfoontact wwith1=snidbnishes and a shell @thereby'reject the burs,` and-take-of means ,41;111911nted :to rotaielinthe lzcasiing on vanvaxis -V cooperating;withthe brushes -toremove the fieccentricftorgandinelfosing the axis-i ofsaid ffcottonzfthenefnom,fthe headwbeingnfprovided Vsleeve and provided :with -wperforations in rear ofi` the' brushes' with an `induction Ythrough whichsaidpins extend. ',port. A22. 41A: .cotton-picker, comprising a .picker N2:15. -In mcottonpicker, a picker head com- ;head having an openrmouthyrotative picker prising interact-ing, oppositely rotativei ybrnshes .at-:said-month,Y zylshaftwin'rear of picker brushes; a vrotative take-Diffdevice inY =saidfbrnshes, asleeve mounted onsaid shaft',` Qontart'with; saidbrushes embracingr a series; a seriesoiradiaflpins cam-ied by' the sleeve in @vof pins-to trvelfbetweenthezbrushes lengthv contact;withsaidn brushes, a. shell fmomnted .-.wse of thefiatter,saiddevieeyembraengalso fftofrotntein themasing onen-axis eccentric to nmcansnpemtiweithroughrotationof the-:de- :md inclosingwthe'f Auzgisof said Lsleeve :and vice to strip the cotton provided-Withwperfonations vthroughwwhich ilmlniicotton picker; afpicker head com- ,--snidj pins; extend, 'gearing :operatively con- PriSiIlgmppOSi'elyvTQaf/ive pilfelbrushes, a f.nectingfsaidfslnllwto the brshes, a'driving rfmtatiyewtakevof .f device e ina 1 roar of -said tshirt@y Vandf-georing connecting y the'Y driving brushes-@embaclngi a .series of radialpins shhftlosaiclshell gqbrushesfima;'directionnlengthwiseethereof, Y- prigsslialgf;picker mesma and a takehel'y means, o and mwtricimeaneopecatifveithrough.rotay1etherlatterembracingenseries ofradial, rota- 'o ofdthefpinef tqnstrip Vftlhciagelitten A;hveuetive pins enacting with thmbnnshes andffstripfr pin means :operativelthrough fthe-A rotation uardsy 'Hiected from andldisappear 'mtofsaid membery f y1533.4 In a :cottonvpicken axpioker head com-' not. ,esxpineitntrpathamottanhenemm Cil . rotate the shell. Y

25. In a cotton picker, a picker head comprising picker means, a take-H device in rear thereof and coacting therewith comprisin a Yfixed shaft, a sleeve thereon, a series o radial pins carried by the sleeve, a shell surounding said sleeve and perforated to permit the pins to pass therethrough, said shell being rotatively mounted in the casing, on an axis eccentric to the axis of rotation of said sleeve, and means to rotate said shell.

26. In a cotton picker, interacting, rotative picker brushes, a plurality of take-off teeth movable to contact with and away from the brushes in the direction of the length of the brushes, a perforated stripping element and means to alternately project said teeth from and withdraw them into said stripping element.

27. A cotton picker comprising a picker head having an open mouth and a rearwardly extending neck for connection to a suction pipe, oppositely rotative interacting brushes at said mouth and a rotative takeoff device in rear of said brushes and co-acting therewith, said head being interiorly enlar d abreast the take-off device beyond the wi th of the mouth to provide ample space between the same and the wall of the device to avoid compression of the cotton as it is carried rearwardly bythe take-off device.

28. A cotton picker comprising a picker head having an open mouth and a rearwardly extending neck for connection to a suction pipe, oppositely rotative interacting brushes at the mouth of the head and a rotative take-ofi' device in rear of and coacting with said brushes, said head being interiorly enlarged abreast the take-off device to provide ample space between the same and the wall of the device to avoid compression of the cotton as it is carried rearwardly by the take-off device, said head being provided in rear of said brushes with an induction port.

29. A cotton picker comprising a head, opposed, interacting, flexible picker and fiber loosening mechanism therein constructed with means to comb and loosen the cotton locks and to segregate them and their individual seeds and adhering cotton from each other to produce a fiu'y seed cotton,

and a pneumatic conveyor to carry the cotton rearwardly from the head, constructed with means in rear of said picker mechanism to receive air, said head and conveyor being proportioned to avoid compression of the cotton.

30. A cotton picker comprising a head, movable interacting picker elements therein, by the movement of which cotton is drawn rearwardly between said elements from the bur into the head to effect a combing and loosening of the cotton, means to remove the cotton from the picker elements constructed with means to further comb and loosen the cotton, and a pneumatic conveyor to carry the cotton rearwardly, from the head, said head and conveyor being proportioned to avoidV compression of` the cotton.

31. A cotton picker comprising a head, oppositely rotative, interacting., flexible bristle brushes therein between which the cotton is drawn from the bur and coacting to penetrate the cotton as it is drawn therebetween and to comb and loosen the cotton locks to produce a fluffy seed cotton, mechanical means to remove the cotton from the brushes and a pneumatic conveyor connected' to said head in rear of the brushes to carry the combed and loosened cotton rearwardly from the head.

32. A cotton picker comprising a head formed with a mouth, oppositely rotative, interacting picker brushes in said mouth between which thecotton is drawn from the bur and coacting to comb and loosen the `cotton locks to produce a fluffy seed cotton, mechanical means .to Vremove the cotton from the brushes and a pneumatic conveyor to carry the cotton rearwardly and having an aii` inlet independent of the area of the mouth containing said brushes.

` 33. A cotton picker comprising a head, movable interacting picker elements therein, by the movement of which the cotton is drawn rearwardly between said elements i from the bur into the head to effect a combing and loosening of the cotton, means to remove the cotton from the picker elements constructed with means to further comb and I'loosen the cotton, and a pneumatic conveyor to carry the cotton rearwardly from the head, constructed with means in rear of said picker elements to receive air, said head and conveyor being proportioned to l avoid compression of the cotton.

In testimony whereof I claim the foregoing as my invention, I hereunto append my signature at Chicago, Illinois, this seventh day of September, 1920.

LOUI S CARROLL STUKENBORG. 

